Welcome to Gonzales Watch - Blawging the Ex-Attorney General

Senate Democrats drafted a no-confidence resolution today in a move intended to mount increased pressure on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign. Senator Judiciary Committee members Charles Schumer (Dem. - N.Y.), Diane Feinstein (Dem. - Cal.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (Dem. - R.I.) to the lead introducing it at a press conference shortly after President Bush reaffirmed his support for Gonzales at a White House news conference.

Here is the full text of the resolution, which is calendered for a Senate vote on Monday, June 11, 2007:

Expressing the sense of the Senate that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales no longer holds the confidence of the Senate and the American People

Mr. Schumer (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Biden, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Bingman, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Brown, Mr. Casey, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Kerry, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Levin, Mr. Menendez, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Obama, Mr. Reid, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Starnow, and Mr. Webb) introduced the following joint resolution which was read twice and referred to the Committee on

Expressing the sense of the Senate that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales no longer holds the confidence of the Senate and the American people.

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in the Congress assembled

3 SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE SENATE

4 It is the sense of the Senate that Attorney General

5 Alberto Gonzales no longer holds the confidence of the

6 Senate and the American people.

For attorneys and law students aspiring to work at the Department of Justice, here is some career advice: the transformation of Monica Goodling’s hairdo from her law school days to her testimony yesterday before the House Judiciary Committee is worth studying.

This could be even more valuable than any bar exam prep course you’ll ever take.

Goodling’s Regent University hairdo is evidence of a carefree coif (inset, top). Note the disshelved appearance that could signify pulling an all-nighter to study for a Constitutional Law class. This hairdo is a living example of the style that can be worn by law students who aspire to graduate in the “top 10.5 percent” of their class.

Next, there is the grunge-like ‘do’ that Goodling dispalyed in her squeeze photo with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove (inset, middle). This style has quite a bit of shine and sheen. What’s unclear, however, is whether it was achieved using professional hair-styling products, or solely from the effects of having a very public moment with Karl Rove.

Finally, there is the Madison Avenue and K Street style (inset, bottom) worn by Goodling at her testimony yesterday before the House Judiciary Committee. This professionally styled coif must have taken considerable time and cost a small fortune. Was it more expensive than the hourly rate of the “three high-priced lawyers” from her legal team at yesterday’s hearing? Litigators: argue the merits of your answer to this important legal question!

When you worked for the country’s most important lawyer, made the front page on a regular basis, and received limited immunity to testify, isn’t it worth it to look your best? The hours it must have taken to wash, comb, and style her latest hairdo probably required Goodling to get up in the wee hours of the morning to meet with her salon team.

It’s a look that says: “I have arrived.” Even as your legal career is spiraling downward from those carefree law school days.

President Bush answered a reporter’s query this morning about Monica Goodling’s House Judiciary Committee testimony yesterday. She testified that she “crossed the line” by taking “political considerations into account on some occasions” as a variable when hiring Justice Department lawyers.

“There is a — an internal investigation talking place at the Justice Department,” he said. “And this will be an exhaustive investigation. And if there’s wrongdoing, it will be taken care of.”

The investigation by the Department’s Inspector General Glenn Fine was revealed by Washington Post reporter Dan Eggen on May 2nd.

Bush said that he’s still “got confidence in Al Gonzales doing the job.”

He’s still standing by his lawman.

One thing was very clear when Monica Goodling testified before the House Judiciary Committee today: she followed the strategy of her former Justice Department boss when attempting to convince Congress that she simply couldn’t remember with whom she spoke about firing and replace U.S. Attorneys, and when they spoke.

Goodling pulled ‘a Gonzales’ when she testified. And not just any Gonzales; this was a classic. That’s when a highly educated professional will repeatedly invoke a foggy memory, smiling in front of your foes with a well-rehearsed image of sincerity and earnestness. It’s what President Bush recently called “political theater.”

“The Best of My Recollection”: Keeping Count

In her prepared testimony, and in response to tough questions from the Committee, Goodling relied on the stock phrase — “to the best of my recollection” — and its variations to explain why she either didn’t know, or didn’t recall certain things. She uttered the “best of my recollection” phrase at least least eleven (11) times, and “recollection” a total of nineteen (19) times when she couldn’t answer Committee members’ queries seeking specifics.

For example, Goodling testified:

“To the best of my recollection, I’ve never had a conversation with Karl Rove or Harriet Miers while I served at the Department of Justice. And I’m certain that I never spoke to either of them about the hiring or firing of any U.S. attorney.” (emphasis added)

She’s just at a loss for words

That’s impossible to believe. As the Justice Department’s White House Liaison, how could she never have spoken with former White House Counsel Harriet Miers or Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove? Just who did she liaise with?

In this picture (inset, below), Rove and Goodling are shown…ahem…liaising. Their liaison doesn’t appear to be a conversation, but more of a squeeze. Although the circumstances surrounding this Flickr photo are unclear, Rove seems to have initiated this particular liaison with Goodling, and the former White House liaison appears to be grinning during their physical contact.

Goodling was also likely to have already established a good working relationship with White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove in her prior work as Deputy Director of Research and Strategic planning at the Republican National Committee. The RNC is the same GOP group that supplied Rove with non-White House e-mails to conduct official business in violation of federal law.

Her testimony simply did not appear credible. That could be a problem for Goodling. Her grant of immunity is only valid if she testifies doesn’t perjure herself and testifies truthfully under oath.